Less than three months ago I decided that my word of the year was plan. It worked well for a few weeks and then little by little I fell off the PLAN wagon. I have big goals and lack of a PLAN is making for one very stressed Julie over here.

In that post I detailed five areas. Here is an update on how I'm doing.

Plan my time better. I have some big time management issues. I'm sure some of it comes from the cross country move, but I have never really been good in this area. I'm good at getting things done at the last minute but that doesn't mean my body likes the stress of it.

I'm doing a little bit better, but honestly I haven't made as much progress in this area as I hoped. When I broke down my quilt market plan I had 3+ months to go & now I can't believe I fly to Kansas City in 5 weeks!

New Quilts I'll be showing very soon!

Plan my projects. Yes sometimes I want to sit & sew just to sew, but I'd be less stressed if I planned out my projects a bit more. I've got so many ideas for Jaybird Quilts that sometimes I end up not sewing for an hour because I can't decide what to work on first.

I am getting better here. I have been organizing my new projects in a new way that has made for more productive sewing time. I have two new patterns I'm about to announce to you! They are in the last stages of pattern testing before heading to the printer.

New Quilt #1 - Fabric is Modernology by Pat Bravo for Art Gallery

Plan my blog. I used to be a good blogger. {Good is relative here since none of you are beating me up... I'm just beating myself up.} I want to get back on a regular schedule of posts that are a bit more planned out vs. the "oh man I haven't blogged in a few days what am I going to write??" moments.

I got better for a few weeks. Then I started to get stressed with work & other things and finding time to plan my blog just never seemed to happen. I have a lot of half written posts and need to make a plan to get them done.

New Quilt #2 - Fabric is Palladium by Dear Stella

Plan to have free time. I can often become a workaholic and spend what should be my free time doing work. Life is short & I need to start spending more of it just living.

I can honestly say this is the one I have done much better at. Recently I took a few days away and spent time with my family. During the last few months I've set aside a lot of free time for my family, friends and just for me. I'm very excited that next week Rachael is coming to spend a few days with me in San Diego.

Plan by writing things down. I often get random bursts of big ideas & somehow don't write them down, or write them somewhere and forget where that is. I'm in the midst of planning a new system for myself to keep track of my ideas.

I started a new notebook and have been getting better at writing in it. I still have the occasional scribbled note or post it, but I haven't lost nearly as many as I used to!

New Quilt #3 - Fabric is Wedding by Michael Miller Fabrics
This one just came back from Angela and doesn't even have binding yet!

New Plans.

Plan my food better. I don't have the best diet. I have some allergies that limit me and I often end up eating the same thing a few times each week. It can be boring, but a lack of a plan makes it my reality. I might never make a monthly plan like Rachel, but I can start a weekly plan.

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comments:

It sounds to me like you are doing very well with your planning! Congratulations! I know we are always hardest on ourselves. I inadvertently agreed to some quilting commitments without realizing that they were all due within a one month period. I am almost finished them and once it is done I will sit done and "plan" better.

Good luck! It's too bad we can't fool ourselves into thinking the deadlines are closer. Of course, that would just lead to more stress but maybe we'd get things done long before they're due. Or not. Life has a way of interrupting the best of plans.

Nice progress so far. Have you tried out workflowy.com? I just discovered it and it's really helping me keep track of all the things I have going on (both work, life and sewing projects). Who knows, it might help you plan all that stuff you have going on! Good luck with it all. :)

Having a plan does help. When we were a young family, and broke, I planned our menu a month at a time. Just plugging food into the days, and making sure the same repeated items were spread-out, really made a difference; and it was good for the budget.

I totally agree. I have to juggle two jobs and run a household (and my business-my other job). I have a faux moleskin journal with an elastic band that I keep clippings, notes, drawings/ideas in. That helps. I love Rachel's plan. Just need to do it. So, back to your book. I'm thinking I should be stocking up on striped fabrics?

I was thinking that I need a plan for my quilts when I read your post! Seems like you're doing a great job. I have too many things that I want to do but I haven't made time for them lately. Reading is great, but I want to get to work on my quilts, too. I just need to get up off my butt in the evenings when the kids are in bed.

I feel the same way sometimes. I mind tends to be all over the place. I can't wait to see more pictures of the quilt with the wedding fabric. I was thinking about it for a quilt for my sisters wedding.

I am not, not, not good at planning beyond getting up when the alarm goes off, getting dressed and driving that grueling 2 blocks to work!! I have missed you lately on the blog. You are in the top 2 of my favorites that I check daily. I have been sending little grumbly thoughts your way, but haven't gotten to beating you up because of that BIG move and that great family of yours (not to mention that adorable significant other!!!) I hope to be seeing you here more often.

BTW.. how do you do the labels/squares on the back of your quilt??? I love that.

Re blogging...have you checked out HootSuite? They allow you to compose posts and schedule for them to be released. You can write multiple at a time and release on certain dates. Know it works for Twitter and Facebook. Probably works for blogs.

LOVE LOVE the Sweet Starlet. It is JUST when I am loking for as a quilt for my bed. I love basic grey. I have been collecting their paper collections for years!!! And I was so thrilled when I discovered their fabric! I Hope they are going to plan a fabric line for Konnichiwa!!

and I love your quilts! I am new to quilting, but your blog is so inspiring! thanks for everything!